Atomic nuclei can sometimes, either spontaneously or after bombardment by
external particles, split into two or more fragments. This fission process was
discovered experimentally in late 1938 by Hahn and Strassman [1]}, [2]}. Barely six months later, Bohr and Wheeler, building on a critical
insight by Lise Meitner [3]}, proposed the first model of the
process [4]}. Since then considerable effort has been expended to
understand this phenomenon. In the past few years, there has been a renaissance
in fission studies and, as a result, several review articles and textbooks have
been published on this subject [5]}, [6]}, [7]}, [8]}, [9]}, [10]}. This chapter will focus on the most recent
developments in building a microscopic theory of fission. Therefore, the
interested reader is advised to consult the aforementioned references to gain a
more complete picture of this fascinating problem.
